A UAMS news release issued Wednesday asserted that UAMS’ 2004 blood stem-cell transplant number was higher than that of any other facility in the country. Officials based that statement on the fact that M. D. Anderson averages about 630 blood stem-cell transplants a year, said Dr. Michele Fox, professor of pathology at UAMS and director of cell therapy and transfusion medicine.

A spokesman for the Houston center could not verify the average number late Wednesday or say whether it had ever done more than 633.

Still, the high number of stem-cell transplants represents a significant growth in the UAMS program. The Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, a part of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center where the transplants are performed, had previously been averaging 500 a year, Fox said.

Fox noted that the blood stem-cell transplants differ from the embryonic stem-cell transplants most people know about. "I try to avoid the term ‘stem cell’ when I can because everyone links it with fetal embryonic stem cells and they get kind of paranoid about killing babies," she said.

Blood stem cells are taken from blood or bone marrow, not embryos. To collect the stem cells, blood is drained from a vein or catheter into a cell processing machine. The material is spun to separate the needed cells, which are then removed from the blood.

The actual transplant is usually an outpatient procedure that takes about 30 minutes. "It’s just like getting a blood transfusion," Fox said. "No big deal."

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